RLA Pastor's blog

2 Kings 10:17 records that during the reign of Solomon he made 300 shields of gold and had them stored in one of the king’s houses in Jerusalem. Each shield contained three pounds of pure gold. Those were some expensive shields!After the death of Solomon, the king of Egypt came against Jerusalem and stole the shields of gold (1 Kings 14:26). So what did Rehoboam, the son of Solomon and reigning king of Judah, do? Did he attempt to recapture that which the enemy had stolen? No. Instead, he replaced the lost shields of gold with shields of brass (1 Kings 14:27).Rehoboam is the king who settled for less. He reasoned: Why fight for gold when you can settle for brass? That’s kind of like saying: Why strive for excellence when you can settle for mediocrity?It’s sad to see people settle for less in any realm of life. But when we settle for less in our spiritual lives, it’s not just sad, it’s tragic. For example, consider the following statements from the Bible –· “When you pray…” (Matthew 6:5)· “If you sin…” (1 John 2:1)Those combined statements are like a spiritual shield of gold. They imply that prayer is a constant in the Christian life, and sin is not. But then the enemy comes along and steals that shield of gold and replaces it with a shield of brass that says –· “If you pray…”· “When you sin…”Shield of brass Christianity settles for less. It assumes that sin is the usual, and prayer the unusual.There is no biblical record that Rehoboam ever recaptured the lost shields. But then, there is no record that he even tried.Don’t be a Rehoboam! Despise mediocrity. Refuse to settle for less. Set your standards high, stake your spiritual claim, and compromise for no one. It’s the only way to live.Pastor Todd Weston